The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-02-26


ing child, hears amid the signing of the
willows and the pines, the voice of
prophecy, "Thy child is born to bless
nation. He shall be an artist, poet or
a statesman" SO thought Mrs. Gar
field, and so thinks many a mother to-
day. Who would blind that vision
which sees the children of America in
future years, industrious, intelligent,
and the possessors of a land Of peace
and plenty?
A vision of these things helps on the
reality. In poetry, in art, in literature,
and invention, where there is no vision,
no clear seeing, the people perish; this
is made apparent in all history. Look
at Greece and Rome In the height of
their glory and fame, the people saw
with lustrous eyes the many deities
who watched over their destinies. When
the eyes of those nations closed to vir-
tue and truth, dimmed by sin and shame,
they went down to death, drawing af-
ter them their gods of victory. AS the
light went out, darkness set in. But
for the dawn of Christianity, the death
knell of worlds progress would have
sounded over land and sea, and who
could have foretold the fate of coming
generations? 1t pleased God, however,
to keep the heavenly lights burning more
brightly, as our earthly lamps dimmed,
thus preparing the way for new eras of
civilization on earth.
If, as has been seen, a clear vision is
so necessary to earthly progress, what
shall we say when we enter upon heav-
emily pursuits. We here traverse, as
the millions who have gone before, the
sands Of the eternal sea; the rolling of
the mighty waves swell the tides of
our hopes and fears. We listen for the
heavenly footballs on the farther shore.
Some there are who think these are but
the echo of the mighty waters, as they
move mysteriously on. Others believe
this sea has upon it many white sail,
that the angels Of love have launched
their silvery barks, and are gliding
down to earth, laden with messages
of joy and peace for suffering world.
We seek the light, and shall it long be
hidden from us Is there an earthly
answer to every human cry, and no re-
Spouse to the questionings of the soul?
Is nature more generous at the founda-
ton of her temple than in the finishing
of its dome? Do we seek for food and
for love and truth and receive them :?
Do we with the golden key Of penetra-
ton and discovery unlock the universe
and gather in its store of knowledge :?
Do we make all earthly things ours,
then stand like paupers at the gate of
heaven ? Is not the upper life as bril-
liantly lighted as the lowerP Does
the giant of death conquer the God of
life? 1 think not, and the unbelief
that declares in the affirmative, is not
very deep, l take it, and is admirably
portrayed by the poet Young, in the
following epigram
",Tis health chiefly keeps an atheist in the
dark,
A fever argues better than Clarke;
But let the logic of the pulse decay,
The Greciau he III renounce and learn to pray"
If then there is law and order in the
world anywhere, will these not be found
where most needed, and do we not seek
for them more especially in the re-
ligious forces of the mind and heart?
That the soul is possessed of eyes other
than the visual organs is made appa-
rent by the spiritual experience of the
race. Some there are who see not, as
there are others who sing not, but this
does not argue against the reality of
music, nor Of the spiritual vision.
History is replete with illustrations of
spiritual gifts, and the good book urges
us to cultivate them earnestly. If the
range of our vision we're shut in by the
walls of the material universe, and no
light could come from beyond the grave,
how soon would civilization crumble to
dust. Shut out the hope of future
life, and the energy, the courage and
the patriotism necessary to keep the
wheels of commerce moving, and the
fires OF progress burning, fades away
like the evening twilight into midnight
gloom. Jesus Christ, in the brightness
of his glory, comes to shed flood of
light on the duty and destiny of our
race. His religion complementing the
heavenly visions which preceded it,
commands at once our admiration and
reverence. We discover in him a type
of life, capable of grasping two worlds
at single glance, and holding an even
poise between them. He saw, in the
innocence of the prattling babe, the SIM
plicity of heavenly greatness, and in
the golden rule, touched the organ key
of worlds progress. A church quick
ened with his vision can never perish,
but grows more powerful for good as
time goes on. As the cares of life null
tiply, seek for that view of destiny
which brings light out of darkness, and